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Bread and History

Bread originated in the Middle East around 8000 BC when grains were crushed to make flatbreads. Throughout history, different cultures developed their own bread varieties, with richer Romans preferring whiter bread. In medieval Britain, social status was reflected in bread type. Modern bread contains many artificial additives not traditionally used. Varieties include banana bread, zucchini bread, baguettes, and challah bread, an integral part of Jewish faith and tradition.

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Abin Tom Mani
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422 views8 pages

Bread and History

Bread originated in the Middle East around 8000 BC when grains were crushed to make flatbreads. Throughout history, different cultures developed their own bread varieties, with richer Romans preferring whiter bread. In medieval Britain, social status was reflected in bread type. Modern bread contains many artificial additives not traditionally used. Varieties include banana bread, zucchini bread, baguettes, and challah bread, an integral part of Jewish faith and tradition.

Uploaded by

Abin Tom Mani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bread

The beginning
ORIGIN OF BREAD
According to history, the earliest bread was made in or around 8000 BC in the
Middle East, specifically Egypt. The quern was the first known grinding tool. Grain
was crushed and the bakers produced what we now commonly recognize in its
closest form as chapatis (India) or tortillas (Mexico).
Throughout the world, in the following centuries, countries developed their own
versions of bread. Some leavened, others not. Romans invented water-milling
around 450 BC and as such, they took bread to what was subsequently regarded as
an art form. Interestingly, the richer Romans considered whiter bread as higher
quality and more suited to the educated and wealthy.
Likewise, in British medieval times, bread baking became quite the status symbol.
The upper classes preferred fine, white loaves, while those of poorer status were
left with the rye, bran and coarser breads.
Modern wheat is actually quite different from the wheat that our great-grandparents’
generation used, and it’s even more different from the wheat that our ancestors
used in earlier centuries. If you look at the ingredient list on a loaf of modern bread,
though, you’ll almost always find a lot of extra ingredients that you can’t even
pronounce. These extra preservatives, artificial flavorings, stabilizers, and
enhancers weren’t part of the traditional bread-making process. They might help
the loaf of bread rise faster and keep it from molding while it sits on a store shelf for
several weeks, but they are unnatural additives that aren’t doing our health any
good, and in many cases, these artificial chemicals can cause negative reactions in
our bodies.
In the sponge-dough method, only some of the ingredients are mixed, forming a
sponge that is allowed to ferment and is then mixed with the remaining ingredients
to form the dough. The mixed dough is divided into appropriately sized pieces,
deposited in bakery pans, and allowed to rise. The pans then pass through a
traveling tray oven, baking the bread. The continuous-mixing process eliminates
many individual operations
Varieties of bread
Banana and Zucchini

Both banana and zucchini bread are dense, moist,


sweet treats, usually chemically leavened with baking
soda or powder. It’s supposed that both of these “quick”
breads got their start in the United States, where 18th-
century bakers first used pear lash, a refined form of
potash, to create carbon dioxide in dough.
Baguette
The long, stick-like loaf, also called French bread (thanks
to its origins), is made with flour, yeast, water, and salt.
From those simple ingredients rises the iconic baguette,
distinguished by its chewy crust, feather-light interior, and
topside slashes,which allow for gas expansion during
baking.
Challah
Challah, which is made with eggs and most
often braided, is integral to the Jewish faith.
Served on the Sabbath and holidays, it was
originally called berches before the word
challah was adopted in the Middle Ages. The
bread continues to carry rich symbolism, from
the poppy and sesame seeds sprinkled on
top that symbolize manna from God, to the
plaited shape, which represents love.

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